Château de Beaucaire

Beaucaire, France

The Château de Beaucaire is a ruined castle in the commune of Beaucaire. Existing structures date from the 12th and 16th centuries, with other elements from various times in the Middle Ages.

First built in the 11th century, the castle was torn down on Richelieu's orders. It used to be protected by a wall, the trace of which can still be followed. It includes a strange polygonal tower perched on a rocky spur, the façades dominating the sheer drop, and a fine round corner tower. Once inside the walls, a staircase leads to a small Romanesque chapel with a charming, sculpted tympanum, and then to the musée Auguste Jacquet. The museum has exhibits on the region's archaeology (dating back more than 40,000 years) and popular arts and traditions.

References:

Wikipedia

Address

Allée Rabaud de Saint-Etienne 9, Beaucaire, France

See all sites in Beaucaire

Details

Founded: 11th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in France
Historical period: Birth of Capetian dynasty (France)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Église Sainte-Marthe de Tarascon (1 km)
Château de Tarascon (0,9 km)
Château de Boulbon (7,1 km)
Saint-Roman Cave Abbey (3,9 km)

Arles Amphitheatre (14,7 km)
Palais des Papes (20,4 km)
Avignon Cathedral (20,5 km)
Arles Roman Theatre (14,9 km)
St. Trophime Church (14,9 km)
Arena of Nîmes (23 km)
Arles Obelisk (14,9 km)
Château des Baux (14,1 km)
Musée du Petit Palais (20,5 km)

User Reviews

british_sports_car (8 months ago)
Beautiful ruined castle from a long time ago! Stunning place.

Monika Smoczyk (8 months ago)
Really nice old castle. Check when it's open as they have siesta in the middle of day.

Josh Meyer (2 years ago)
From the outside, this is a very cool looking castle. The outer walls are well maintained and very interesting to walk along. However, if you want to go anywhere else on the inside, you basically have to do the escape game. That being said, you are still very limited in what you can see. Also, be careful about open doors. You may get yelled at by security even though someone didn’t lock the door. Bring hiking shoes cause there are a lot of stairs.

Bernard Vassas (2 years ago)
Outstanding remain of what used to be one of the most important and powerful fortress of the southern France. You can also walk around in its romantic gardens. Unfortunately, the access has not been upgraded for handicapped people. The visit is free.

Vanya Mihaylova (3 years ago)
Very historical medieval place! Great view from top.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historical Gems of Costa Verde

Photo from Flickr, copyright marcoverch

Historic Site of the week

Ehrenbreitstein Fortress

Ehrenbreitstein Fortress was built as the backbone of the regional fortification system, Festung Koblenz, by Prussia between 1817 and 1832 and guarded the middle Rhine region, an area that had been invaded by French troops repeatedly before. The fortress was never attacked.

Early fortifications at the site can be dated back to about 1000 BC. At about AD 1000 Ehrenbert erected a castle. The Archbishops of Trier expanded it with a supporting castle Burg Helferstein and guarded the Holy Tunic in it from 1657 to 1794. Successive Archbishops used the castle's strategic importance to barter between contending powers; thus in 1672 at the outset of war between France and Germany the Archbishop refused requests both from the envoys of Louis XIV and from Brandenburg's Ambassador, Christoph Caspar von Blumenthal, to permit the passage of troops across the Rhine.